Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/167256
6A Daily News – Saturday, September 7, 2013 Opinion Comprehensive immigration reform: Pro-growth and pro-agriculture DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate passed a commonsense immigration reform measure in a strongly bipartisan fashion. This was an important step in the right direction – especially for producers, farm workers and rural communities. The historic legislation passed by the Senate provides a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million people who are in our country today without authorization. They will have to go to the back of the line, pay fines and settle taxes they owe our nation. It would modernize the system that we use to bring skilled workers into the United States. And it would put in place the toughest border security plan that America has ever seen – building on steps that have reduced illegal border crossings to their lowest level in decades. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that the Senate bill would reduce the deficit over the next 20 years by nearly $850 billion, and the Social Security Administration estimates that this immigration bill would add nearly $300 billion to the Social Security system in the next decade. For California agriculture, this reform bill is also of vital importance. Recently, the White House economic team released a new report highlighting the positive economic benefits that commonsense immigration reform would provide for agriculture and rural America. The report highlights research showing that without a stable workforce, America's record agricultural productivity will decline in coming years. In California, eliminating the immigrant labor force could cost as much as $3 billion in production related losses. The Senate bill addresses this concern by taking much-needed steps to ensure a stable agricultural workforce, and a fair system for U.S. producers and farm workers. In particular, it would give qualifying farm workers an expedited path to earned citizenship, as long as they continue to work in agriculture. A new temporary worker program would replace the current H-2A visa program over time, and ers and communities allow farm workers a across rural America three-year visa to work and the proposal before year-round in any agrithe Congress is supportcultural job. ed by a diverse coalition This commonsense ranging from the United system wouldn't just Farm Workers to the prevent a decline in proAmerican Farm Bureau duction – it would grow Federation. Nearly 75% the economy. Research of California's farm highlighted in the White workers are non-citiHouse report projects zens, and their hard that an expanded tempowork has helped our rary worker program state's farmers and would increase both proVal ranchers lead the world duction and exports in productivity. To across our agriculture remain competitive and sector. to keep driving economUnder the Senate proposal, USDA would play a ic growth in rural America, we greater role in implementing farm need rules that work. Rural Amerilabor programs and ensuring that ca needs Congress to act as soon as farmers and ranchers have all the possible to carry forward the work information they need. As Con- of the U.S. Senate and fix today's gress continues to work on this broken immigration system. issue, Secretary Vilsack and all of Val Dolcini is the state executive us at USDA are committed to working with lawmakers to be director of the US Department of sure they have any technical assis- Agriculture in California. He was tance they might need to finalize appointed to this position by President Obama in 2009 and these proposals. be reached at Immigration reform is very can important for farmers, farm work- val.dolcini@ca.usda.gov. Dolcini Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Commentary Does the global village need a cop? It became very clear to me that we really do live in a global village this last Saturday while I was listening to our President outline his case for punishing Syria. Both he and Secretary of State John Kerry detailed the atrocity of chemical weapon attacks by the Syrian regime against its own citizens, resulting in over 1,400 deaths, over 400 of whom were children. The term "global village" was coined by Marshall McLuhan in the early sixties; he saw the new media knitting the world together with instant communications; he foresaw something like the Internet, which was just in its embryonic phase in the late '60s. Today we are literally bombarded by the ubiquity of digital communication. We can hardly avoid the latest bad news, whether it happens in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Corning. Not only that, but the assumption of privacy is no longer a sound one. Imagine the Syrian government's chagrin when it was made clear by Secretary of State Kerry that we had intercepted their military communiqués, identified individuals who started the operation, recounted preparatory actions, named launch sites, and had determined the actual chemical weapon used. By most civilized standards what the Syrian dictatorship did was abhorrent. The question at hand is what, if anything, can or should any other country or coalition do about it. Some point out the atrocities that took place in Germany under Hitler. They claim that Europe failed to respond until actual war began, and the disastrous loss of life that resulted from World War II could have been avoided. Those people might say if something more forceful had been attempted both the victims of the Holocaust and countless combatants would have been saved. We know that an isolated incident in a remote place can trigger a chain reaction that impacts the whole world. The assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand triggered the First World War because of a series of entangled alliances which had drawn some proverbial "lines in the sand." After World War I the League of Nations was formed, without membership by the United States. Its echo was the United Nations formed in 1945. In order to make it "work" some nations were given veto power. (Sort of like any U.S. Senator can keep the whole Senate from doing its work.) Given the relationship between Russia and Syria, it is likely any UN action to punish Syria would be stopped by the veto power of Russia. So action by our international organization designed to make the world a better place is not very likely. The next questions that come to mind are: Who is the world's policeman? Is it the United States? Is Syria important enough to the United States to matter? Syria isn't a major world power, but it is influential in its region. Syria has a history of turmoil ever since it was made a protectorate of France after World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. It is a country of about 22.5 million people; it has a young population with almost 34 percent under 15 years of age. (By comparison in the U.S. about 20 percent of the population is under 15.) The unemployment rate is over 19 percent. Syria's economy has been struggling and inflation is a serious problem. International sanctions have further stressed the economy. According to the CIA Fact Book: "Long-run economic constraints include foreign trade Hama; estimates of up to 40,000 barriers, declining oil production, people were killed in that 1982 high unemployment, rising budget action. A year earlier 350 people in that town were sumdeficits, and increasing marily executed by the pressure on water supgovernment. plies caused by heavy So, what can or use in agriculture, rapid should we do about it? population growth, We are a war weary industrial expansion, and people, prone to distrust water pollution." what our government In 1979 Syria was tells us. We think of designated a State SponNixon and Watergate, sor of Terrorism."There and G.W. Bush and are currently three types Iraq. We wonder if of sanctions that the U.S. NSA is paying attengovernment has imposed Joe tion to us. We do not against Syria. The most buy Syrian oil, so it is comprehensive sanction, of little interest to us. called the Syria AccountWe wonder if some ability Act (SAA) of superpower was look2004, prohibits the export of most goods containing ing over our shoulders in the more than 10% U.S.-manufactured march for civil rights if they would component parts to Syria. Another have intervened in our country's sanction, resulting from the USA affairs, banning exports/imports, Patriot Act, was levied specifically and such. We worry about what against the Commercial Bank of has been called the "long war." We Syria in 2006. The third type of also know there is a strong law of sanction contains many Executive unexpected consequences when Orders from the President that we "carefully" plan international specifically deny certain Syrian cit- operations. Are we the world's cop? Do we izens and entities access to the U.S. financial system due to their partic- have the moral high ground and ipation in proliferation of weapons can we tell others to do what is of mass destruction, association right? Can we force them with with Al Qaida, the Taliban or bombs? We are already being snickered Osama bin Laden; or destabilizing activities in Iraq and Lebanon." at by the Syrians who see our President backing down. Will they (U.S. Department of State) It doesn't appear that Syria shame us into action? I do not know the answers to has nuclear capabilities, but it does have a large military and an most of these questions, but I do apparent indifference to human know the monster of unintended life. The struggle between the consequences is waiting just Muslim Brotherhood and the rul- around the corner to yell, "I told ing party has been going on for you so!" over 70 years. The government Joe Harrop is a retired has never hesitated to kill civilians. In Thomas Friedman's educator with more than 30 book From Beirut to Jerusalem, years of service to the North there is a graphic description of State. He can be reached at the government's attack on DrJoeHarrop@sbcglobal.net. Harrop